In a Land Far, Far Away
by heiress of lit
Summary: The new headmistress at Hogwarts, Minerva McGonagall, has a few screws loose from helping in the defeat of Voldemort. What happens when she isn't quite recovered yet, and madly suggests the students to perform a muggle musical? Dramione fantasy adventure
1. The Mad Idea of a Muggle Musical

Disclaimer: Harry Potter + JK Rowling's glorious world belongs not to me, sadly

In a Land Far, Far Away

**Chapter 1**

Hermione couldn't remember the last time her mum and dad read her a bedtime story. Maybe it was after first grade, but she started to read to herself after a while. Especially after running into a copy of Hogwarts: A History at Flourish and Blotts during her first years at Hogwarts. Anyway, it wasn't completely random that she was thinking of this in the middle of the school day, squeezed between her best friends, Harry and Ron, on the benches in the Great Hall. Why, you ask? It was all because of this insane new teacher at the school, or rather an old one that went horribly wrong over the summer.

"Dearies! I do hope you're enjoying your first lunch back at Hogwarts!" McGonagall practically simpered. She suddenly stopped to giggle girlishly. The entire student body stopped chewing their lunch only to gag and guffaw at their new headmistress.

"You all look so surprised, and I haven't even announced my special little treat to you all yet! Unless…" She trailed off suspiciously to glare at the rest of the staff. "…unless one of you told them about my plan already…Sprout!"

At that moment Professor Sprout jerked her head up only to end up looking into McGonagall's flared nostrils. Ah, at least she _looked _like she was back to normal. Sadly, that was not the case.

"Minerva?" Sprout wearily said. "Is something the matter?"

"What in Merlin's name were you bloody thinking, telling them about the school musical before I got to it?" At once the deadly silent hall began to buzz as students, mainly girls, chatted excitedly. Imagine a musical at Hogwarts! Something that had never happened post-Elizabethan times!

"M-musical?" Sprout sputtered. It was obvious she had had no clue what McGonagall was talking about. "What on earth are you raving about? Minerva, dear, are you feeling alright?"

At this McGonagall snorted and yelled very loudly. "Yes, Sprout. I was fine before I found out you went ahead and told my students about _my_ treat. And now you're lying to me. Shut up." She finished with a bark.

Sprout sadly stared at McGonagall, as if she was some specimen with a broken stem in Greenhouse 3 before making eye contact with her colleagues. Minerva was clearly not recovering any time soon.

The headmistress continued to rave about lying and cheating among colleagues. "In my day…" She started.

"Oh my," Hermione whispered urgently to Harry. "Do you think she's still suffering from Dumbledore's death? Or even worse, what V-Voldemort did to her before you-?"

Harry had blanched as well. It was something only the Order (which had now accepted the Weasley kids, Harry, Hermione and a certain ferret) knew about, but when Harry had faced off with Voldemort in his final duel, McGonagall had gotten in the way…to protect Harry, she recalled…

"_So, Harry. Do you feel the time has now come for you to feel the excruciating pain that your mudblood mother felt before she left this earth…before she left you…?"_

_Harry was shaking with anger. "Crucio!" He yelled as he jerked his wand. But Voldemort was too quick for him and had disappeared, only to reappear a few feet behind Harry. _

_He raised his Death Eater's wand wordlessly but a powerful spell emerged from the tip of it. _

_Ginny and Hermione screamed from their places tied around the serpent monument that stood eerily in the moonlight…the Death Eaters remained silent with their masks off and looks of hunger etched across their faces._

_At what seemed Harry's last hope a woman hurled herself into Harry and took the effect of the curse for him. Harry was still rolling in the grass when they watched Professor McGonagall being lifted into the air by the curse then dropped with such force that they heard numerous bones break. _

_Ginny was sobbing and Hermione was too shocked to do anything, she couldn't even breathe…_

"_Please, don't let her be dead…"_

"Hermione," Ron waved a hand in front of her face. She blinked several times. That had only happened a month ago, and here they were, back in school. It was surprising how life would go on, _almost_ smoothly (emphasis on almost) even after something enormous like Voldemort's defeat. It was a huge relief McGonagall had gotten physically better. But the Healers had been worried about McGonagall's mental state. They were sure she would recover, but too much stress on her presently frail mind could potentially drive her to self-inflicted injuries, or even suicide. Come to think of it, that was probably the reason that McGonagall's job as headmistress hadn't been given to someone else, to keep her from feeling too much stress and annoyance.

"Are you guys okay?" Ron asked softly. Hermione nodded but then jerked her head a fraction toward Harry, who didn't seem too good at all. She and Ron knew he was still feeling guilty of being safe at the expense of McGonagall's injuries.

"I'll be fine." He barely croaked. He tried to sit up taller and listen to his headmistress, even though she was a bit off her rocker at the moment. It was the least they felt they could do…

……………………………..

(Hermione's point of view)

The professors apparently didn't want McGonagall to get too angry, or she could explode, and I supposed they could have lost their jobs as well. Posters announcing the musical were posted on the house bulletin boards, which were located just outside the common rooms to get everyone's attention.

"Ooh," Parvati sighed. "It's a romance…about a prince and a belle."

A light went on in my head. "It's a muggle story," I said out of nowhere.

Her eyes widened. "But there's magic in the story! Look, read the summary…furniture and dishes coming to life, an enchanted mirror…"

"Yes, but muggles thought that magic was fake, remember? They still do…" I touched the poster. "They made up stories called fairy tales to teach children lessons about hate, greed…and love." I heard a familiar smirk behind me so I turned around curiously when-AH! My eyes!

The distinct sound of a wet latex glove being ripped away from a hand was made as Lavender pulled away from Ron. Harry was nowhere to be seen (probably snuggling somewhere with Ginny) and so I had been the only one from our little trio that had witnessed such an atrocity. I couldn't believe they were at it _again_. The couple was lounging on a couch that was situated in the hallway that stretched in front of the common room entrance. (You would have thought they would have the decency to go _inside_ the common room at least, or were they that impatient to get at each other?) Lavender was blushing and stroking Ron's hair adoringly. _Well_, I thought evilly, _at least I could use it against Ron if he ever annoyed me about Krum again_. I heard the smirk again and rolled my eyes. _Honestly, Malfoy._

"What?" I muttered.

Malfoy grinned the same way I had at Ron and Lavender. He started to say something, something snotty without a doubt, but I was having trouble listening to what he was saying on account of his looking more than decent with his few white-blond bangs falling into his crisp, silvery eyes…

_Oh my-_ _what on earth did I just think??? _

I must have looked utterly horrified, even for reacting to a Draco-ism, because he stared at me intently before snapping, "Why are you looking at me that way? All I did was call you 'know-it-all-beaver' which I have called you ever since-" He broke off annoyed. Now I _knew_ I must have looked like a complete loon with my mouth hanging open, still shocked from my previous thoughts about Malfoy's appearance.

"Wha-at?" Malfoy all but whined.

_Aw so the big, bad dragon was cranky…okay, that was the end of it!_ And before I gave myself the chance to blurt out any of the stupid thoughts going through my head, I abruptly ran up to the Gryffindor Common room.


	2. Similar Senitments?

Disclaimer: Harry Potter + JK Rowling's glorious world belongs not to me, sadly.

**Chapter 2**

(Hermione's point of view)

It is one thing to realize you are thinking about a person in a truly incoherent manner, especially if you have just barely become on speaking terms with this person and usually just the sound of his name was enough to make you want to retch.

But it is entirely another thing when you burst into the common room hoping for a friendly friend and a warm fire to get your mind off this someone mentioned above- when instead you are greeted by that very friend and a best friend of yours snogging in the most passionate way you had seen since…

well, _ever_.

It is probably most embarrassing when these two people turn around to gape at you because you are interrupting their private time and not even rushing out of the room (madly apologizing) to get away from their session.

Not that it's your fault, because it is the shock that is causing you to be rooted to that spot until the humiliation you feel from your friends staring- er, glaring- at you is enough to send your feet speeding you off, off and away.

So by the time I dash out the door provided by the fat lady's portrait ("What's the rush, dearie?") I am so out of breath and blinded by the sight of, well, you know, anyone who saw me would have thought I had finally lost it.

"All that reading and hours alone at the library must finally have gotten to her…the poor thing…" I over heard a fifth year Hufflepuff whispering sympathetically to her friend.

"Shut up or I'll deduct house points for rudeness," I barked before turning away from the jumpy girls, only to smash my head into the chest of an admiringly tall and handsome young man-

Oh owl droppings.

"Granger?" Malfoy blinked, clearly amused at my flustered state, then leered at me joyfully. "I see you just couldn't resist embracing my handsome self, could you?"

My scatter-brained quality of thinking quickly evaporated as I glared at him. "Shut. Up. Draco."

Did I just use his name??? The shock had been immense after all, perhaps I still wasn't thinking very clearly...

"Granger did you just use my name?"

"No. Yes."

Malfoy blinked again, looking absolutely adorable as he did- _OH MY GOODNESS GRACIOUS WHAT WAS I THINKING?_

Before I knew it, I was again running madly away from this annoyingly (okay, fine, and undeniably) good-looking boy. The most embarrassing part was I heard him laughing like a deranged man as I turned around the corner. Oh, this was not happening. He was _not_ laughing at me, was he?

…………………………….

Draco watched Hermione disappear around the corner before bursting out with laughter. He wasn't really laughing at her, more like at the situation. Most girls who had bumped into him that way had done it intentionally, and they usually tried to seduce him (to no avail) after he had blinked adorably at them. And although not many knew this, Draco never went out with all the good-looking girls that had batted their eyelashes at him. No, a Malfoy was much more sophisticated than that.

However there was another reason Draco didn't go out with girls particularly these days. Sure, he'd let them touch his arm and stroke his hair (for a second only, his hair was his treasure) but there still was a reason he didn't go around letting them kiss him anymore.

It wasn't that he was in love or anything- no, he always felt he was a bit cold having never really received unselfish and pure love from anyone before- but he did tend to think about a certain someone quite often nowadays and he wasn't willing to admit it to anyone yet. This was partly because he was pretty sure she didn't like him in the most remote way, which had been a shock to him at first, due to the fact that no living thing could actually resist_ the_ Draco Malfoy. But then again, you couldn't expect a more-than-descent woman to let you sweep her off her feet if you had verbally tortured her for the first six years you had known her.

_Hmm, six years eh? _Draco thought. _It seemed longer than that…like I've really known her for a much longer period of time…_

Perhaps it was because Draco never really was committed to one person before. His father certainly wasn't. But besides that, he wasn't interested in a relationship with anyone; all he wanted was respect and acknowledgement from the one he admired. _Yes, I admire her_, he reminded himself thoughtfully. _Not love, I honestly don't think I'm capable of that…not since mother…_

Draco brushed the thought away and sighed. Not really the type of emotional eater, he decided to skip supper and headed up to the common room reserved for the Head boy and girl.


	3. The Ferret and the KnowItAll Beaver

Disclaimer: Harry Potter + JK Rowling's glorious world belongs not to me, sadly. Neither does _Beauty and the Beast_ (property of Disney) which will be incorporated in the plot of the story henceforth.

**Chapter 3**

"Well, after being so rudely interrupted by, ehhem, my colleagues at lunch, I decided to rethink the musical thingy," McGonagall announced at dinner that night. Several girls gasped. They had been expecting her to tell them when auditions would be, but it seemed something else was coming…

"Yes," McGonagall continued. "We can't have auditions yet because, well- the script isn't written yet!" She grinned in a very un-Minerva-ish way, sheepishly. "Yes, I was much too busy during the summer because-" She broke off confused. "Severus, what _had_ I been doing this summer?"

Snape, who had been serving his sentence in Azkaban for a few months after murdering Dumbledore, knew exactly that she had took part in plotting Voldemort's downfall. He had helped, too. After all, he was one of the best potion makers in the wizarding community so he had proved himself useful to the Order. There was also too much evidence that Snape had been under the Imperius spell cast by Voldemort after his mind had been tortured and weakened by Death Eaters, making him kill Dumbledore. Therefore his sentence had been cut short. As Hermione remembered from her first ever mission for the Order, it was thanks to Snape that the youngest Malfoy had decided to join them. Her large brown eyes swept over the Slytherin table only to feel a surprising tug of disappointment as she failed to spot Draco.

"_I don't, I don't want to do this to him anymore," sobbed Narcissa. "He's just a boy, and oh my goodness, it's my entire fault, Nymphadora. Draco-he's-he's just a child and Lucius and I forced the Dark Lord's theories on him. It's my bloody fault…I couldn't protect him from Voldemort…protect him…" She let out a raspy, shuddery breath then stopped quivering, her mouth was slack open and her eyes became glassy. Tonks hadn't spoken to her aunt in years, and sincerely regretted it as she watched her life slip away. She buried her head in her aunt's shoulder and started bawling. _

"_Auntie, it's okay now. We'll watch over Draco, its okay. Auntie, auntie, wake up __**this moment**__. None of this is your fault, none of it! Lucius tortured you, too, I know that! Auntie, wake up...please!"_

_Snape patted Tonks shoulder softly before sadly turning to Draco who was standing a ways looking absolutely shocked, then angry. He whipped out his wand from his robes and pointed it at Snape. _

"_Step away from my mother," Draco snarled. When Snape started to walk towards him he silently sent a stunning spell at him. Snape deflected it like it was nothing. Draco walked backwards until he tripped. He glared reproachfully at Snape as he offered him a hand up._

"_I don't need your pity."_

"_No, you don't. But your mother would have wanted us to help you," Snape said carefully._

_Draco continued to glare at Snape until his façade shattered and he buried his blond head into his hands to weep, for what felt like the first time he could without feeling like a spoiled child. _

That night had been very surreal indeed. The Aurors had stormed Malfoy manor while Lucius had been away on a Death Eater mission. Narcissa had attacked an Auror to keep them from taking custody of Draco, only to be at the receiving end of her own spell through a reversal counter spell. She had past away sobbing about Draco, and the son had willingly joined the Order. At the time Hermione and her friends, especially the Weasley children, had protested, saying he could turn on them at any moment. But after a week or so they became convinced that his heart was true about joining their ranks, the sincerity that was partly because of his mother's last wishes.

The other part of him seemed intent on avenging his mother by killing his own father using his skills which seemed to surpass those of anyone in his age, maybe even Harry. He certainly seemed capable of doing so. (This had been due to intense Death Eater training he had received during that summer and the summer a year before that one). But he was spared from doing this when his father was killed by an Auror during the last battle in which Death Eaters and Aurors had clashed after Harry had defeated Voldemort.

Even so, Harry had never been able to forgive Snape for "egging on" Sirius and killing Dumbledore. And this was clearly evident due to the utter look of hate that was on Harry's face as he watched Snape speak to Professor McGonagall.

"You were very busy visiting your mother of course," Snape replied hastily. "Erm, what was that about the musical you were saying?"

"Ah, yes. The musical," McGonagall continued. "Yes, I haven't written the script because of my mum, so I was thinking I could let one of you write it." When no one looked even remotely interested she went slyly, "Extra house points and points towards your exams to the first person who writes me a fantastic script for this musical."

Instantly the students began to chat enthusiastically. The fifth years who were worried about OWLS were especially giddy.

(Hermione's point of view)

"What do you think, Hermione, are you going to try?" Ron asked.

"Well, it's worth a try, I suppose?" I said. "Extra house points and exam points sound excellent. How about you Harry?"

But Harry was nowhere to be seen. Then again neither was Ginny. Ron was red in the face before he said stiffly through gritted teeth, "It gets just a bit annoying after how many times they keep disappearing at odd times." I giggled at this.

"Well, I'm off to the library to look more into that story for the musical, Ronald."

Ron looked miserable as he muttered, "Yeah, yeah 'Mione…" until he spotted Lavender waggling her fingers at him. He looked like Christmas had come early as he strutted off. I tried not to look disgusted and waved goodbye.

……………………………

(Hermione's point of view)

There weren't many students at the library that night. _All the more quiet,_ I thought, that is, until I spotted Malfoy lounging oh so casually at a table nearby. He caught me looking at him and smirked. He set his book down and started to glide over to me. He could be an absolute twit but I had to admit, his gait was quite elegant.

"What?" I greeted him sourly.

"Manners, Granger. And yes, good evening to you too. What are you doing here?" Malfoy swept some hair out of his face.

I snorted at the ridiculousness of this question. "Why would I not be here? I'm always at the library. Plus we have that extra credit thing McGonagall offered. Now shoo."

Malfoy didn't retreat from my rudeness but instead sat across from me. "I'm working on that, too."

"So?"

"So," he said slowly. "Why don't I help you? Since you know you could use my superior skills and all."

I looked up sharply. What was he playing at? "What do you want from me, Malfoy?"

I oddly had the fleeting impression that Malfoy had started to say, "You" but instead he said, rather quickly, "Your smarts. I was thinking if we worked together, we could get it down in less than half the time it would take the average student. Plus, we both are aware of our excellent research skills, and McGonagall said nothing against teamwork."

I was flattered, really, because Malfoy never complimented me like that, unless the 'know- it- all' part of 'know-it-all beaver' counted. (Why did he still call me that, anyway? It's not like my teeth were abnormally large like before; in fact Madame Pomfrey had made them quite normal sized a few years back.) I huffed because he did have a point. "Fine. We can look up 'Muggle Fairy Tales' in the fiction shelf of the muggle section-"

"I already did," Malfoy interrupted. "But there's barely anything, look-" He levitated a small mountain of books from the table he was at to our table. "There are a few pieces on _Beauty and the Beast_ here and there but other than that there's barely anything we don't already know about the blasted story."

I flipped through the nearby books to get an idea on what they had to offer. He was right: nothing.

"Hey, Draco?" I nudged him; thankfully he ignored the fact that I used his first name.

"What?"

"Do you think we should try the Forbidden section?" I asked quietly.

"Why would anyone put a story book in the Forbidden section? No offense, but a muggle one at that?" He asked exasperatedly.

"I know," I said ignoring his semi-politeness toward muggles. "It sounds dumb, but Harry, Ron and I have found several useful and unlikely things there on countless occasions. Who knows? Maybe there's something secret about this story nobody really knew about, including the muggles that made up this tale. And if we were the ones to somehow incorporate that into the script, I bet we could win this thing."

I think we were both really surprised at how willingly I agreed to work with Malfoy, but he nodded curtly before saying, "Alright, tonight at eleven o'clock, we meet here. I'm sure we'll be out of Madam Pince's view by that time of the night."


End file.
